Experts say it takes 21 days to turn a resolution into a habit and about 90 days to master a new job or learn to dance. Within 90 days, Clevertech CEO Kuty Shalev can help an entrepreneur bring a multi-million dollar idea to life.

As head of a wildly successful digital product development agency, Shalev leads the strategy to create web and mobile apps that support product launches for brands such as Condé-Nast, Viacom and Adobe.

Clevertech’s innovation labs blend experimentation and research, positioning the company as a cutting-edge, full-service partner renowned for developing emerging, game-changing technology. In just one quarter, a maverick team of business analysts, developers and designers can deliver minimally viable products to the market. Without flinching or failing, they find the sweet spot that creates or enhances value.

In this Q&A, learn why sourcing worldwide is the ideal way to recruit talent, how to position your ideas for capital investment, and how a little bit of sweat equity goes a long way.

Blue: In your business, it’s important to stay ahead of trends. How do you do it?

Kuty: You learn how to create a mental model of what you think is going to happen. It’s what one of my coaches calls “reading the world.” For example, most companies limit recruiting for talent to specific geographic parameters. But we recruit anywhere in the world. When businesses say they can’t find the help they need, some of that has to do with how well they read the trends. If people want to work from home, work remotely or work collaboratively, there are tools to make that happen. It serves your business better to adapt to trends than to limit your hiring to people that can only work in the office.

Blue: Recruiting worldwide is a massive undertaking. How do you go about it exactly?

Kuty: It’s about describing your ideal person in a way that will generate the right kinds and number of responses. Even if you only get six responses, you will be in a much better place because the description weeds out those that are not qualified.

Blue: One of your customers said they usually multiply the quote by pi because they know it will be 3.14 times higher, but you delivered the project on time and on budget. How do you deliver those kinds of results?

Kuty: It is a result of the quality of the people. We recruited the guy who implemented new features for Photoshop. The guy who engineered the backend for a Top 10 iPhone game works with us. We recruit worldwide and recruit the very best. We compete with top employers like Google and Facebook for the same people. That kind of customer testimonial is a testament to the quality of the people working in the organization.

Blue: Companies like Facebook and Google have deep pockets. What is the tipping point?

Kuty: Google wants you to come to San Francisco and work in their offices. Facebook is quite similar. We are big proponents of the Daniel Pink model for motivation: autonomy (to direct our own lives), mastery (to learn and create new things), and purpose (to do better by ourselves and our world). When someone tastes the freedom of working remotely and continues to do good work, it can be addictive, and they don’t want to give it up.

Blue: How do you help entrepreneurs understand how to turn their ideas into capital?

Kuty: The opportunity for entrepreneurs is to transfer ideas into something valuable. We overlook the ability to transfer time and effort into capital. You don’t need $10 million to buy a factory. If you have the right set of ideas and hit the market at the right time, it turns ideas into capital. There are people all over the world that are willing to help you build something awesome.

Blue: You mentioned that you have a coach. What can CEOs learn from a coach?

Kuty: It’s about continuous learning. I stop reading emails and make the time to learn: read books and go to conferences and events to hear the experiences of other CEOs and industry experts.

Blue: What online sites have you bookmarked?

Kuty: Growth Hacker (growthhacker.tv) and Mixergy (mixergy.com). I also like Robin Sharma of Sharma Leadership International Inc. (robinsharma.com), especially his books and the series of 15-minute videos he offers about a specific topic. I believe wisdom exists in a lot of different people.

With more than 40 years of management, executive, consulting and speaking experience worldwide, Miller Ingenuity CEO Steve Blue (www.StevenLBlue.com) is a leading mid-market CEO and a globally-regarded business growth authority who has transformed companies into industry giants and enthralled audiences with his dynamic keynotes. He is the author of three books, including "American Manufacturing 2.0: What Went Wrong and How to Make it Right." Follow Steve on Twitter @StevenLBlue.

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